LJ Design & Photo

I have always loved Gerber Daisies. However, I did not seem to inherit my mother's green thumb. My mom can bring back a plant that you may have thought was dead! When I saw these beautiful Red Gerber Daisy Photos in LJ Design & Photo's Etsy Shop, I knew that these photos were a must have for me. I love the red flowers on the red walls in our home. I will be taking one of these photos to my classroom so that I can enjoy the beautiful flowers all winter long.

Lorissa of LJ Design & Photo has many different themed photographic series in her shop, such as her motherhood series, Route 66, the Mohave Desert,Ghost towns and Night and much more! She recently started making cards and gift tags as well. When you have a moment to spare and would like to view some amazing photography, stop by LJ's shop. You will not be disappointed! To learn more about Lorissa's photography, visit her blog, Photography, Art, & Motherhood, or website, http://ljphotodesign.com.

Teething and Reaching New Heights

We all want our babes to thrive and grow stronger and taller. However, with the good comes the bad. My babe can now reach the ends of his crib which are much higher than the rails. The ends are massive solid rectangular pieces of wood. How in the world was I going to protect my babe from these? Nothing like a problem to inspire a bit of mommy creativity. I decided to make a rectangular quilt with extra fabric on the perimeter to slide ribbon through. Then I could cinch up the ribbon to hold the quilted guard to the end of the crib.

I placed a second piece of fabric underneath the Baby Snoopy fabric shown above, right sides together. Then I stitched them together, turned right sides out and machine quilted where there was batting. Then I top stitched a seam to provide a slot for the ribbon. I slid the ribbon through and went to the nursery. It fit fine, but I knew that my little guy could tear it down in no time! So, back to the sewing machine. I top stitched another aisle to slide elastic through. After sliding the elastic through, I went back to the nursery. I placed the guard on the crib and cinched the elastic as tight as it would go. I noted the location and then tied off the elastic. Then I placed the guard back on the crib and tugged. It was secure!! I do not think that the babe will be able to tear it down with the addition of the elastic. I left the ribbon in as well. I figured a little extra cinching never hurt! This is what the final quilted guard looks like.

I have written three Do It Yourself Tutorials available in my Etsy shop and my Artfire Shop. There are even two No Sew Tutorials.

Mama's on the Run

My new Bob jogging stroller was delivered yesterday. Today's task was to assemble it. Of course, the babe decided to help out! I got about half way done and it was nap time. So I put the babe down and finished putting the stroller together. I was going to add a completed photo, but forgot the camera when we went out for a jog. I had a destination in mind, Rite Aid. It is 1.5 miles away, a good starting distance for someone who hasn't jogged since 2002. I wanted to buy some of the large lawn and garden bags for raking the lawn tomorrow. We got to Rite Aid and they did not have the bags. I felt pretty good, so we continued another mile to the Aubuchon Hardware Store Downtown. On the way, I saw a cake decorating shop that I had never noticed before. The babe is turning one this month, so I bought some cute Sesame Street character toppers for his cake. We proceeded on to the hardware store. Luckily, they had just what we needed. I also bought myself a new pair of gardening gloves and some seeds for my flower garden. Unfortunately, I don't think that I inherited my mother's green thumb - but that doesn't keep me from trying! Now about 2.5 miles from home, I start our journey back. The nice part about shopping on the run is I had time to catch my breath in each store. I jogged most of the 2 mile return trip and walked the last half mile for a good cool down. Thankfully, I remembered to stretch before and after jogging, but this mama's still a bit sore in parts that I had forgotten I had! It was a beautiful day and with all of our stops, we were gone for about an hour and a half. I am so glad that I bought the jogging stroller. I look forward to many outdoor excursions with the little guy this summer!